Your Thoughts Require Energy. Prune Them.

Everything that we do requires energy. Going for a run, doing the dishes, playing with children... It all requires having energy to burn. Above and beyond all these energy-burning mechanisms there is one sure-fire way to deplete energy: Negative thinking.

We know this scientifically; thebrain uses roughly 20% of the human body's energy, more than any other organ. We also know this from experience.

I can sit and dread tasks, I can complain about people, I can make excuses for why my life is the way it is and drain myself in the process. The energy I could have used to accomplish tasks, to connect with people or to reach the goals I have in my life is instead squandered on empty, paralyzing thought. We often think that we are saving energy by "planning" our time, but oftentimes we end up squandering energy in our own heads.

Watch out for excuses. Watch out for complaints. Be on the lookout for dread and for resignation. These lines of thinking keep you as a self-imagined victim and suck your supply of energy dry.

Instead, think about what you can do and how to turn your desires into motivation for action.Small steps supported by energizing thinking can take you farther. For example:

"In this present moment, I can do whatever I set my mind to."

How many "nows" will we waste thinking about the future, the past or what is "wrong" with the present?